The days were passing quickly, the inevitable approaching. Wake up, work, lay in bed, sleep, the cycle repeated for over a decade finally broken now threatened to return. The ouroboris had decided it would go back to eating its own tail.

  Another day came around and Liam was up again.

  Congratulations! You woke up early again today!

  “Anything goin’ on today?”

  You have 5 new messages.

  “Give me the important ones.”

  You have 1 message from Trans Cont.

  “Trans Cont?”

  Dear employee, thanks to your dedicated efforts we—

  “Summarize the important points.”

  Trans Cont. is hosting a party tonight at 7:00 pm for all its local workers in order to celebrate their efforts while the Union officials were here.

  With one eye open the world was dull, a grayscale palate of industrial quality. The air was stagnant and musty, the ventilation systems outdated and overworked. Liam’s floor was clear of trash, but still filthy. The dirt and grime made a natural coat of paint. The walls and ceiling were warped and peeling, beige things stained an even deeper brown from a lack of upkeep. The outside was only marginally better, the street cracked and crumbling with barely legible painted lines. Lights hung from the ceiling of the tunnel road, many broken and uncared for, unreplaced and unnoticed. There was only one person out and about. Paper white hair, skin, and clothes made them hardly distinguishable from Liam. Their mouth moved, a conversation held with thin air.

  Based on an analysis of your recent interest in the news there has been a huge development! The Union has concluded their visit and will begin pulling out!

  Liam could feel the cool metal of his right eye, his finger sat on the switch and gently opened it up. Lines of color tore through the misery, bright and vibrant artificial lights slicing through the drab ones to dominate his vision. Cheery advertisements lined every wall, people with bright smiling faces contrasting with his own expression. The road was new and the paint fresh, the cracks and broken chunks hidden in an instant. The single person walking now talked not with themself but to another floating near their head.

  Would you like to hear more about it?

  The left eye could be felt, blood rushing through it, proof his heart was still beating. He could feel its minute movements and adjustments if he paid attention. The eyelid occasionally flicked to keep it moist, and it couldn’t unsee the previous sights. The painted lines of light could obscure the truth, but they couldn’t hide it. The decrepit rot had not ceased to exist, it had simply been hidden.

  “No, I don’t think I’d like to hear about the news ever again.”

  Sure thing!

  Liam pushed forward along his daily commute, his feet wanting to drag. They suddenly felt heavy and weak, and he had to force them to keep moving. They finally wanted to break the robotic and endlessly repeating cycle, but he couldn’t let them, or he’d be late to work.

  Trans Cont’s party will be held at the Banks Corporation Center. They have generously decided to excuse leaving your shift early to attend, but your pay will be docked accordingly!

  “Wow… that really is generous.”

  Wet concrete engulfed his legs as he made his way into the train station. Each step became a herculean effort, but he ground onward. Liam grabbed the door to the employees’ room and wrenched it open, Andrew was already there and he could feel the concrete begin to melt away.

  You can’t keep ignoring it, the fact that you just keep blaming all your problems on something else.

  “Mornin’. You see the news?”

  The younger man nodded, “Do you think there’s any chance they keep me?”

  “No.”

  There was nothing else to say.

  “Should I move out of the capital city? Living’s so much more expensive here.”

  “There are more jobs here.”

  “Yeah, but everything costs more.”

  “What a cruel dilemma. Who designed cities to be like that?”

  They went about their daily business, working as if nothing had changed, save for the silence between them. Liam suddenly felt very helpless, he was watching the younger generation be eaten whole with the only consolation being he had narrowly dodged the culling and in turn received a sentence of endless and mindless drudgery until his body at last wore out.

  “Do you think I should go?” asked Andrew, at last breaking the silence.

  “They’ll probably make an official announcement there,” replied Liam, “besides there’ll probably be free alcohol, that’s what they’ve done in the past.”

  “I don’t drink.”

  “Good. It’s too expensive, but don’t ever miss the chance if someone else is paying.”

  The day crept on. Without the presence of a sun it was easier to lose track of time, to feel that a moment could last forever, that nothing would change, but the clock continued to tick. Generally it left you at the mercy of the employer, time entirely defined by them, but this day Liam wouldn’t have minded if things stretched out longer.

  “Do you think things will work out for me?” asked Andrew softly.

  “You’ll figure it out. Things worked out well enough for me.” That was a lie, but at least he had a job and no substance addictions.

  You can’t keep ignoring it, the fact that you just keep blaming all your problems on something else.

  Long periods of quiet passed interspersed with the occasional conversation, but neither one seemed to have much to say.

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  The time came to leave for the event. The Banks Corporation Center was far away, so they’d have to leave work early to get there. The location had no relevance towards the employees of Trans Cont., it was a place for far removed managers wealthy enough to no longer need public transportation. Offices were located there, and there were probably some sort of conference rooms they would use to hold the event.

  Andrew felt the compulsion to say something, “I’m… I’m scared.” He looked sickly and was trembling slightly, but he continued, “This is the first job I’ve managed to get, and I’ve got nothing else lined up. I’ve got student loans, living expenses, and food to pay for. I just-I just don’t know what the point is anymore.”

  “You’re still young, you’ve got time,” offered Liam, but the words felt hollow, empty.

  “I’m… I’m scared because after this I’m not sure I’ll have a reason for going on anymore.”

  Liam had nothing to say, he didn’t have the answers, the advice Andrew was looking for. He could say things, rattle off quotes, bits and pieces of philosophy picked up here and there, but they were all meaningless platitudes now in the face of reality. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say at this point, “Don’t fret about it so much, let’s just enjoy the event and figure it out later.”

  The train ride was long, and the nearest station ended over two kilometers away from the center. They were on the far west side of the city, on the opposite end of their houses and the port in the east. Things were much more modern here, a new expansion tacked onto the blight of the original brutalist city. There were lamp posts lining the streets and the occasional vehicle drove past on a well maintained road with sharp painted lines.

  The advertisements were different here. Political slogans with bright primary colors were normal, and the faces of politicians, painted with grins of flawless white teeth, watched over the passerbies. News reels played here and there as well, proclaiming either victory over the Union or raging against the tyranny of Union oppressors bent on destroying their culture and way of life.

  Posters bragged about the latest advancements in cosmetic accessories. There were cat ears rigged to move with your facial expressions and tilt towards sounds, muscle filters that proudly proclaimed simulating every bit of skin and tendon, and outlandish clothes that floated, rippled, or faded into nothingness.

  The Banks Corporation center was a collection of glamorous office buildings rented out to different companies. Trans Cont. headquarters were located there, in a sweeping building with architectural flourishes. Curves were all the rage now, giving everything a smooth and futuristic look while being unnecessarily impractical. The lobby of Trans Cont. headquarters was a polished white with the occasional gold accent. The reception desk was a curving semi-circle, plastered with signs advertising the event and directing them where to go. Liam ran his finger along the curved ridges of the desk as they passed, smugly noting how it came away brown from outside grit swept in. Automated cleaning services always struggled with complex architecture like that, and filters would hide it from the average eye.

  The party was being held in a posh conference room. Its floor was a thick carpet, patterned with the Trans Cont. logo, and Liam felt sorry for whatever staff would have to clean it as all the Trans Cont. grunts migrated in, dragging in dirt and dust. The room was spacious, but still just barely large enough to accommodate the several hundred employees who worked throughout different positions and stations in the city. There was a long central oval table made of real wood that must have cost a fortune to get shipped in, and alcohol and snacks littered its surface.

  Trans Cont. was not a company that liked to splurge on its employees, but higher ups were here, so everything was suitably luxurious for them. Still, hosting anything of this order at all was uncharacteristically generous of the company, giving Liam the sneaking suspicion there was some sort of ulterior motive. Perhaps an attempt to placate the masses before a mass firing.

  The higher ups sat nervously around their own separate table at the far end of the room. They wouldn’t partake in the general refreshments, instead given their own table with a noticeably higher quality of food. Liam flicked his right eye closed so he could get a good look at them. They were all older, and seemed uncomfortable at the sight of the growing crowd of employees, many of whom hadn’t even bothered changing out of their work clothes. They were dressed in slim-cut white suits of a high quality with tracking dots woven tastefully throughout to give their elegant overlays a perfect match. They were well-groomed and well-dressed, at complete odds with the crowd of employees, many of whom had just gotten off shifts and were there solely for the purpose of consuming as much free liquor as possible.

  Liam felt horribly out of place, but it gave him a sick sense of satisfaction to see how the higher-ups, beneath the cool demeanors of their filters, glanced worriedly at one another as the crowd of under-dressed and underpaid employees tramped about the fancy place like it was some sort of museum.

  One of the executives stood up, a tall thin man with an impressive mustache and custom tailored suit. Liam adjusted his right eye so he could get a look at his filters. They were subtle, but multi-layered and complex, elegant and very clearly expensive. His face was made to be more wise, the age not hidden but used to give him an air of experience and understanding. An extravagant tuxedo was overlaid atop his white suit, matching up with the sewn in tracking dots to prevent any sort of clipping and move perfectly with every subtle adjustment of his posture. The tux was orders of magnitude more impressive than the actual garments, but both were still a night and day contrast to the employees who didn’t even bother with nice looking filters.

  “Thank you all for coming tonight. It is with utmost pride that I commend all of you on your tireless and diligent service that have made this company a cornerstone and model…”

  “How long do you think he’s gonna yap for before actually saying anything?” muttered Liam to Andrew before going to get a glass of alcohol. He grimaced, it was watered down rocket fuel, cheap, foul-tasting garbage, but alcohol was still alcohol, and still a luxury as far as he was concerned.

  “Many of you were hired quite recently for the sake of…”

  Was this it? Liam sucked in a breath, waiting to hear what he was going to say about the new hires, but the executive just continued to blabber on.

  “...I’d like to most graciously and with utmost sincerity thank all of you for the exemplary service you have most wonderfully given…”

  Liam grabbed another glass of liquor as the speaker droned on. The table was already almost barren, quite painfully understocked for the volume of invited attendees, and the crowd, especially new arrivals, were beginning to notice.

  “This has been one of our most successful years to date, and your dedication in the presence of the Union has made our great nation proud. So it is with my gratitude and commendation that I must announce to you the changes taking place to continue our growth and success. There has been a reordering of staff, effective as of now, and the necessary emails are being sent out, but don’t fret, you will forever be a part of Trans Cont. and your diligence will not be—”

  Someone who’d clearly had a few too many drinks interrupted, “Whaddya tryin’a say?”

  A flash of annoyance crossed the older executive’s face, “In order to meet our quarterly goals some of you may now be free to pursue other activities—”

  “Hey!” interrupted someone else, “This wasn’t in the job description! I thought it was supposed to be permanent!” There was a flurry of activity as people had their mini-me’s pull up their emails, frantically searching to confirm their status.

  “Yes, it is unfortunate, but hold your heads up high and be proud of yourselves for your efforts!”

  Liam was being kept. Andrew was not.

  Rage, misery, and annoyance were sweeping through the crowd. There hadn’t been sufficient alcohol to pacify them.

  Liam motioned for Andrew to follow.

  “It’s best we get out of here, there’s not a reason to stick around anymore.”

  People were pressing in on the executives, alcohol giving them the courage to shout demands and insults.

  Andrew was silent as the two janitors pushed their way through the crowd.

  Out of touch higher-ups shouted meaningless platitudes, confused at the sweeping outrage at being fired at such an event. They tried hopelessly to get people to understand that it was necessary, the data had spoken, there were too many employees.

  The two men exited the building with its excessive and modern styles, clean white interiors, gold accents, and shouting crowd of low-level workers.

  “Hey Liam,” said Andrew, the older man paused, “What do you think it means to live? Have you figured out an answer to your question yet?”

  “I’m the one who asked the question, why would I have an answer?”

  “Then, do you think you’ll ever find an answer?”

  Liam was still for a long moment, looking about the Banks Corporation Center. This far west region was much smaller and more removed from the rest of the city. It was modern, new, clean, expensive, a shining beacon of everything you were told to aspire to, but there was still no view of the sky.

  “No.” Liam had nothing more to say, no comfort to give, when he had none himself.

  The two said their goodbyes and parted ways once they got back to the port station, and all the way home all Liam could here was:

  You just keep blaming all your problems on something else.